Danny Smith, candidate for Delegate. The Washington Post is now two-thirds of their way through their Virginia House of Delegates endorsements and, shocker, their rate of endorsing Democrats now stands at 94%. In 14 of 15 House races and all three statewide races, they’re backing one party. The next round (nine races by my count) may yield one more Republican—Del. Tom Rust is always good for a token backing—but even that’s up in the air.
Don’t get me wrong—I prefer the Post to wear its blantant partisan bias transparently on its sleeve rather than their previous charade of “independent-thinking” or “centrism”. But if you’re going to just become another attachment to the Democratic Party’s apparatus, why bother with these phony endorsements at all?
UPDATE: The last round is in, and sees endorsements for Aaron Ringel, Eric Brescia, and Del. Tom Rust. This brings the Post’s final count to 22 out of 26, which is still an impressive 85% rate of endorsing Democrats. And with no disrespect aimed at Danny Smith, Aaron Ringel, and Eric Brescia, they endorsed Democrats in 11 out of 12 races (92%) expected to be competitive, plus all three statewides.
In my book, that counts the Washington Post as a “knee-jerk” slant towards Democrats. Why? Because the only way that the Post will consider endorsing a Republican is if they are socially moderate AND if they routinely buck their party. All qualifying Republicans must jump through a series of hoops to appease them for even a chance of an endorsement; meanwhile, the most socially liberal and the most down-the-line partisan Democrats are given an edge for their party loyalty. That is by no means “independent” or “centrist”, but is in fact knee-jerk Democratic. Compare to the Fairfax Times’ endorsements of 5 Republicans and 8 Democrats, based more on who is better to serve than on who is more ideologically like the Post.
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Oct 23rd by VA Blogger
The Danny Smith endorsement is bizarre… he has a 0.0% chance of getting elected. This is a district that Obama got 65% of the vote and borders Arlington and Falls Church.
Not only that, Kaye is an experienced member of the School Board and community activist… the only thing I can think of is that they are bitter over the primary endorsement of Bob Hull (who Kaye beat).
James Martin
on October 24th, 2009They endorsed someone who can’t possibly win! They wanted to make sure, after their last botched endorsement of Deeds. Plus, they’d never want to endorse a republican who might actually win.
Lovettsville Lady
on October 24th, 2009I would love to be a fly on the wall of these Post endorsement meetings. I still can’t figure out exactly how or why they make the choices they do. Sometimes it’s obvious, but sometimes it’s kooky.
Brian S
on October 24th, 2009Because the Republicans have been united in not raising taxes, at least lately?
Rob Iola
on October 24th, 2009The desire to raise taxes seems to be a must to win the WaPo endorsement. What a ridiculous set of endorsements. VAB is right, they may as well officially announce themselves as the Official PR Apparatus of the DPVA.
Loudoun Insider
on October 24th, 2009LI, Werkheiser over Albo is a prime example. Here you’ve got the Post admitting that Albo is “intelligent, tough-minded, broadly experienced and effective” (said of both candidates) and “heads the House Courts of Justice Committee and is a shrewd operator”, while Werkeiser is notable for, well, starting a charity. So they’d throw out the guy who’s built up influence for the people he represents by being part of the House leadership, who works hard to keep costs low and quality of life high (”used his legislative clout to bash undocumented immigrants” – the liberal euphamism for illegals), and who is steadfast against raising taxes (”block major funding initiatives, such as former Gov. Mark R. Warner’s in 2004 that raised money for education and public safety” – and what do my property taxes go towards again?) – and replace him with someone who “would occupy the sensible middle ground.” Incredible.
Rob Iola
on October 24th, 2009The WaPo has really gone overboard with their endorsements of Dems across the board this year. And we’ll see just how “influential” they are with the results Nov. 3.
Loudoun Insider
on October 24th, 2009As much as I hate the WaPo we should at least congratulate Mr. Smith on this one.
Dan (Not the liberal one)
on October 24th, 2009[...] the time, such to the point that is like the cowbells of the Mississippi State fans. So, despite the Washington Post Machine, for me it was Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli, Bill Bolling and Barbara Comstock on my ballot. If [...]
Absenteeism 2009: I am in a GOP frenzy
on October 24th, 2009They actually endorsed Moonbat Rishell! Unbelievable.
Loudoun Insider
on October 25th, 2009They actually endorsed Tom “I Hate Kids” Rust!! Unbelievable.
Not John S. Mosby
on October 25th, 2009Over Stevens “I Hate Schools in my District” Miller!!! Unbelievable.
Rob Iola
on October 25th, 2009Yep. Over Stevens “I don’t know squat about the Chamber of Commerce, their position on anything, or when the Board I sit on took a position on anything either, the bylaws of the health panel, or how a bill gets out of committee, but by jingo I know how to appoint my cronies to positions and pay them back with legislative actions” Miller.
Imagine that!
Barbara Munsey
on October 25th, 2009No matter your political persuasion, there is good news in the land. The Washington Redskins did not lose today. well, sure, they didn’t play, but hey, we’re looking for a positive here!
kelley in virginia
on October 25th, 2009James, I suspect the Post didn’t endorse Kaye Kory because she comes across as amazingly shallow, and will freely admit she knows next to nothing about state government. It’s almost as if she hasn’t done any homework on this position because she knows she doesn’t have much competition. Frankly, when I met her I was shocked at how space-cadetish she was.
Anon
on October 25th, 2009In the WaPo’s endorsement of Tom Rust, this is all they could think of to say about Stevens Miller: “His Democratic opponent, Stevens Miller, is a capable lawyer who’s served for two years on the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors.<<< Wow. Damning with (very) faint praise.
Lovettsville Lady
on October 25th, 2009Fancy that. The Post thinks that social moderates make better candidates. Maybe that’s because most of the nation is sick and tired of a preaching and hypocritically moralizing theocracy looming on the horizon.
Barbara Munsey, since when have you had an aversion to political cronies being appointed to positions? Sour grapes?
Elder Berry
on October 25th, 2009“Because the only way that the Post will consider endorsing a Republican is if they are socially moderate AND if they routinely buck their party.”
I assume you mean this is their criteria for the HOD races, and not necessarily for the congressional races, as I don’t exactly see how Frank Wolf typically fits this description.
Bwana
on October 26th, 2009Elder Berry, that’s a fair dig from anyone who believes I’m Satan, and no doubt many do!
However, the difference may be that I never lobbied or voted for anything that would directly financially benefit me. I also showed up ready to work when it was time to do so; no public hearing was ever cancelled because of my unscheduled lack of attendance. I also recused myself from voting on the CPAMs, which I did not HAVE to do, but did in order to calm those who thought I’d only been appointed to punch them through. Some people still say I voted on them, but the record proves otherwise.
View the history of some of Miller’s and pals deals. The personal stamp is pretty breathtaking.
Barbara Munsey
on October 26th, 2009All other things being equal, the Post will go liberal Democrat. However, things are rarely equal. You get a wide range of competencies, particularly in local and statewide candidates. The Post endorses Republicans, even socially conservative Republicans, when their editorial board thinks they know how to run a government. A lot of the “anti=Republican” bias of the Post goes back many years and includes a time when the Republican Party repeatedly, at all levels of government, has placed a premium on ideologues with no track record of governmental competence. Every one of our statewide candidates this year played that game in years past. This year they’re trying something radically different and it seems to be working. But Mcdonnell, Bolling and Cuccinelli all carry considerable baggage from the past, and it’s asking a great deal for the Post to forget that. In the delegate races, the Post seems to be willing to back Republican candidates who have shown themselves capable of more than a slogan.
NoVA Scout
on October 26th, 2009For the Post to endorse you, the candidate must believe in a liberal statist agenda where the ruling elite dictates who gets what — The candidate that wins the WaPo endorsement is the candidate I will never support, regardless of party affiliation.
Michael
on October 26th, 2009Seriously, has Stevens Miller received any endorsements at all.
I think Rust has every major media outlet and organizations.
Anon
on October 26th, 2009Yes he has, Dip Shits of America has endorsed him. You might want to ask Not John S. Mosby, he is the president of that organization.
G. Stone
on October 27th, 2009